Police: Lancaster woman was texting before crash that killed bicyclist

Police say a woman was texting when she drove her car into the back of a bicyclist, who died nine days later of his injures.

Phyllis L. Emery, 60, is charged with felony homicide by vehicle, misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter, and cited with traffic citations in connection with the death of the bicyclist, who was not identified in court documents.

Emery crashed a 2013 Volvo S60 into the bicyclist in the 2300 block of Sheaffer Road, Mount Joy Township, just before 4:30 p.m. on April 8, according to charging documents.

Police said the bicyclist had been hit from behind by the Volvo and had serious injuries. He was taken to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for treatment, and he died of his injuries on April 17. The autopsy confirmed he died of multiple traumatic injuries, according to court documents.

Police at the scene noticed that the digital display built into the dashboard of Emery’s vehicle showed her phone lost its connection to the vehicle. Forensic analysis of the phone and car showed that 60 seconds before the crash, she sent a text message, then she tried to call “919,″ according to court documents.

Analysis also found she received a text 45 seconds before she tried to call “919,” and that attempt was 27 seconds after Lancaster dispatchers received a 911 call about the crash from a neighbor.

The Volvo had damage to the front passenger side hood and windshield, which was consistent with a body hitting the vehicle, according to court documents.

The neighbor, who was not identified by police, told investigators she heard the crash from inside her house and went outside to see what happened, according to court documents. She saw that a vehicle hit the bicyclist, so she went back into the house to call 911.

The neighbor estimated she called 911 one or two minutes after the crash, according to court documents.

Forensic tests showed police that Emery would have had 784 feet of sight distance prior to reaching the place where she hit the bicyclist, according to court documents.

In charging Emery, police said she drove “recklessly or with gross negligence” because she was having a text conversation while driving and didn’t see the bicyclist before she hit him.